'Nutcracker's' blend of charm and darkness makes an enduring treat for young and old

By R.M. CAMPBELL, SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER DANCE CRITIC

Published 10:00 pm, Sunday, November 27, 2005

Although E.T.A. Hoffmann's story "The Nutcracker and the Mouse King" is not a confection, most of its ballet descendents, hurtling through the American Christmas scene, have turned it into one -- with fantasies of domestic bliss, sweet exotica and playful innocence.

One of the most remarkable aspects, among many, of the Pacific Northwest Ballet's "Nutcracker," which opened this weekend at McCaw Hall, is that it couples sugar and spice. The interweaving of the two is subtle, so much so one can wallow in the winsome charms of the production and never take in its anxious and darker shadings. Tens of thousands, including eager parents and their children, have spent countless pleasurable hours watching this ballet since its premiere in 1983.

The children's books of Maurice Sendak -- who designed the sets and costumes of the production as well as played a key hand in devising the scenario, along with choreographer Kent Stowell -- are known for their psychological, and sometimes disturbing, edge. If he had not been allowed to create something emotionally true, he would have said no.

That duality is in part what makes PNB's "Nutcracker" distinguished and enduring, but also clever because one can take what one wants. It is a swimming pool of ideas and images: Dive deep or dive shallow. Even Tchaikovksy's inspired score is a mix of light and dark. Russian painter and writer Alexandre Benois, writing about the ballet after its premiere in St. Petersburg, in 1892, called the music "solemn, melancholy, restless" at one point and another, "tense (with) a delirious langour."

For many children, of whom dozens, attentive and alert, filled McCaw Hall Saturday afternoon, PNB's "Nutcracker" is their first experience not only with live dance, but theater. And what a spectacle it is. Every American ballet company does some kind of "Nutracker" because it generates so much money at the box office -- there are about a half-dozen in the Northwest alone -- but only a few possess the grandeur and free-wheeling imagination of PNB's. The production provides something else, for adults and children. For the former, it is a respite from the hurly-burly of the season; for the latter, it provides characters portrayed by children and serves as an example of civilized behavior.

The cast at the Saturday matinee was good, drawn from the ranks of principal dancers as well as the corps de ballet for solo roles. There are two Claras -- the child, danced by Colby Lewis and the adult, danced by Louise Nadeau. Lewis was engaging, pretty and never lost her cool. It has become a commonplace to call Nadeau musical, but it is the truth, a rare virtue today. To borrow a phrase, one sees the music as she dances, all its nuances expressed with an amazingly direct combination of boldness and subtlety. Her cavalier was Olivier Wevers. He is a dancer of immense range and personal expression, attributes not called upon in this role. He is a standard-issue Prince. Period. But he did it naturally -- courtly and youthful and light. Uko Gorter was a fine Drosselmeier, a character he does supremely well.

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Smaller roles abound. Casey Herd was the dynamic general of the Warrior Mice and Lesley Rausch, a subdued and alluring Peacock. I liked Sean Rollofson's Chinese Tiger and the Dervishes of Kiyon Gaines, Jordan Pacitti and James Moore, who leapt to notice last month for his fierce performance of Marcus Goecke's "Mopey." Lucien Postlewaite's contribution to the commedia trio is worth noting. And Mara Vinson, the lead in "Waltz of the Flowers," gave a performance of limpid phrasing and seamless line.